Los Angeles-basedproduction company Duly Noted has begun filming in Baltimore on the romanticcomedy Rocket Science,Jeff Blitz's fictional follow-up to his Oscar-nominated documentary Spellbound.

Rocket Science chronicles an awkward teenager's efforts to courtthe apple of his eye by joining the high school debating team.

The cast ofmostly newcomers includes Reece Thompson, Anna Kendrick, Vincent Piazza, StevePark, Lisbeth Bartlett, and Aaron Yoo.

The production is believedto be one of the first to take advantage of the state of Maryland's new wagerebate programme, which allows producers of local shoots to claim a rebate of50% of the first $25,000 in wages paid per employee earning less than $1m.

"This was exactly the kindof project I was looking to get behind," Duly Noted chief Effie Brown said."It's great storytelling with believable, human characters. Jeff has a uniqueperspective that lends this project a thoughtful authenticity."

Brown is servingas producer on the project and her producer credits include Real Women HaveCurves and StrangerInside. She served asexecutive producer on In The Cut.

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